Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration this week that Israel would take control of security in Gaza for an indefinite period has added to uncertainty over the future of the besieged enclave, more than a month into the war.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference with defense minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet minister Benny Gantz in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS/File Photothis week that Israel would take control of security in Gaza for an indefinite period has added to uncertainty over the future of the besieged enclave, more than a month into the war.
Gantz, who said Hamas presented an existential threat to Israel, told reporters Israel would have to ensure "security superiority" around Gaza but the specifics remain vague in the absence of any coherent idea of the political future. With more than 10,000 Palestinians killed in the relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip by Israeli jets, according to Palestinian officials, the war is already among the bloodiest episodes in decades of conflict.
As the war has ground on, there have been calls from Western countries, including the United States, for a renewal of stalled efforts to agree a two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Some diplomats have mooted the possibility of a reshaped Palestinian Authority - the body set up under the Oslo interim peace accords 30 years ago -The PA used to run both Gaza and the West Bank, but was forcibly ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007, and now only governs sections of the West Bank, which is dotted with ever-growing Jewish settlements.
Cities such as Nablus and Jenin, which earlier this year was the scene of a two-day battle involving hundreds of Israeli troops backed by drones and helicopter gunships, have become strongholds for militant groups including Hamas.
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